Worming,' eyeballing' and other disease-spreading eye trends

By Andrea L. Fisher, O.D.For Digital First Media

Friday, June 21, 2013

Last year’s trend among teens was “eyeballing.” There were videos originating from the U.K. demonstrating how to do this new fad. Although kids aren’t doing this to become intoxicated, it is a trend that is catching on once they are drunk. Instead of taking shots down the hatch (by mouth), they are pouring vodka and other liquors into their eyes.

The mucosal membranes in the eyes are similar to the mucosal membranes in our mouth, GI tract and vagina. However, the eyes have much less surface area than the entire GI tract, so the effects of intoxication are much less. This is more of an “I dare you to...” instead of an alternate method of becoming intoxicated. The internet made this trend spread like wildfire. Since most liquor is made of as much as 60 percent alcohol, people doing “eyeballing” end up with painful corneal burns and sometimes permanent blindness.

Fast forward to 2013, in Japan, as much as one-third of elementary students admit to licking their classmates’ eyes. It is called eye licking or “worming,” more accurately called, oculolinctus.

It has become a fetish among elementary children and adolescents to express intimacy between young lovers. But why? What would possess two people to lick each other’s eyes?

The sensory component of the cornea is very unique to any other part of the body in that it has unmyelinated nerve endings that is very sensitive to touch, temperature and chemicals. The rest of the bodies nerve endings are myelinated, which speeds the rate of conduction and dampens the electrical impulses so “misfires” are eliminated. Because the corneal nerves are “live” so to speak and not insulated, the tissue is very sensitive to picking up slight touch and temperature. One 29-year-old student admits that her boyfriend started licking her eyeballs years ago, and she likened it to sucking her toes.

Despite its popularity, people must understand its dangers. It transmits bacteria from the mouth that can cause pink eye (conjunctivitis). More importantly, it is a method of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia and herpes. Both trachoma (chlamydia passed to the eye) and HSV I (oral herpes) can be passed from the mouth to the eye.

The ridges on the tongue can also cause a corneal abrasion if repeated in the same area because the corneal tissue is very delicate. Finally, if spices or acidic foods are eaten before performing oculolinctus, you can also experience a chemical burn to the cornea and surrounding eye tissue.

What other bad eye habits are there? There are many, but let me just clarify a few that come up in the course of an eye examination.

1. Colostrum from breast milk does not treat an adult or pediatric eye infection. Once a baby is born, colostrum helps with immunity to common bacteria and viruses but it has no effect on reducing eye infections. It certainly does no more than using an artificial tear to “flush the eye” in adults when they obtain an eye infection. Patients have also used regular milk to flush the eyes for relief of burning and grittiness from dry eye. Again, artificial tears like Systane have been formulated for ocular use. Milk may not entirely be sterile even though its pasteurized. Pasteurization usually partially kills the harmful bacteria that cause issues with the GI tract. The non-harmful bacteria of the GI tract can cause conjunctivitis in the eye.

2. Applying make-up while driving or while in a car is a great way to cause a corneal or conjunctival abrasion. I have seen this while stopped at a light. While someone is driving, the passenger is applying eye make-up in the car. All it takes is a sudden stop for objects in the roadway, and that sharp applicator can scrape across the eye.

3. Cleaning your contacts with saline solution because “all solutions are the same.” I am actually quite surprised in the number of people who don’t realize that the $2 bottle of saline solution (buffered water and salt) is not the same as a multi-purpose solution (MPS), which is $8-10 a bottle. This is a sure way to develop an eye infection because no digital (with fingertips) cleaning takes place, and no agents in the solution are killing the bugs while the contacts are in the case. While we are on this topic, all MPS are not created equal either. The store brand multipurpose solution has similar or equivalent antibacterial agents in the formula, but not equal. The safest way to go is not buy solution at all with daily disposable lenses. Use the lenses for 12 hours and then throw them away, eliminating the need for disinfecting, cleaning, storing and rinsing your contact lenses.

4. Finally, when your eye infection has been treated with the eye drop prescribed for your condition, don’t give that same eye drop to a family member, ever. Not in the same week, month or year, period. I cannot tell you how many family members share eye drops. Especially with antibiotic allergies, while one drop is OK, another may be a derivative of penicillin or cephalosporin, which can cause an allergic reaction worse than the initial infection. Another thing that most people do is share artificial tears. It is OK as long as you don’t touch the tip to your eye or eyelashes. But do you share toothpaste? What about other personal hygiene items, like underarm deodorant? I wouldn’t dream of sharing my toothpaste or deodorant, let alone any eye drop.